Berwick Port funding set to boost tourism trade

04 Mar 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

The council is set to provide £400,000 funding to Berwick Port as part of an ambitious scheme to bring cruise ships to the town and increase tourism.

With the first cruise ships scheduled to start visiting Berwick this summer, the port, town and wider area is set for an economic upturn which the council is keen to support.

The funding would be conditional on Berwick Harbour Commission agreeing to a potential option to allow access to some of the site should the Council be able to develop further integrated coach and car parking in that area of the town

Like many of the county’s market towns, parking facilities are at a premium and the council is looking at ways of creating better facilities for visitors.

The funding is on the back of Berwick Harbour Commission’s successful 2017 bid for £2million from the Coastal Communities Fund to carry out essential works to secure Berwick’s future as a viable working port and a key part of the local economic infrastructure.

Council Leader Peter Jackson said: “We’ve always been supportive of the Harbour Commission’s plans for the port and I’ve just visited the site myself to see the major improvements they’re working on.

“The economic and regeneration benefits of this scheme to Berwick town and the whole of north Northumberland have been significantly improved because of the confirmation that cruise ships will now be visiting Berwick this year. This is a really exciting long term development.

“We know how other towns have benefited from the arrival of cruise ships, opening up whole new streams of tourism funding as thousands more visitors explore the area.

“Through our proposed funding the aim is that the port site could potentially be used to serve the town centre as well as the cruise ship operation by creating improved parking facilities for cars and coaches.”

The plans will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet on March 10.